Electronics giant Hewlett-Packard might not be the first thing that comes to mind when the subject of mobile technology is brought up, but they are giving back to humanity using this very technology that other entities dominate. Most people in developed countries would not think twice about malaria, and maybe many even think that the disease has been wiped out. While this may be true in many countries, there are still locations where malaria is present. In some parts of the world, malaria poses a serious threat to locals. Botswana is one of these locations.
What HP is doing is working hand in hand with a health monitoring service in the African country, with the aim of tracking outbreaks of malaria and ultimately stopping the outbreaks before they reach too far.
Enter the Palm Pre 2. There was a time when there were people who thought that the Palm Pre 2 just might give the Apple iPhone a run for its money, but it didn’t really happen. And while there might not be too many people using the Palm Pre and Palm Pre 2, at least the technology is being put to good use.
The program is being conducted together with the group Positive Innovation for the Next Generation (PING), the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and Mascom (a network provider in the country). With these significant players collaborating, the people of Botswana will benefit from the program. In the future, the program is meant to be spread to other African countries, with HP continuing to help with the technological aspects. HP may not be your favorite brand, but it still is nice to hear about initiatives like this one, isn’t it?
Via Venture Beat
